Name the Bard...Bjorc. There. Now my work here is done.

Agree with what is said in the video about the Bard Hero and the reinvention of Orcs in the new HeroQuest. I also grew playing with the calssic game 😊

To each their own... I fell in love with the orc bard when I first saw him. I love that he's a jolly guy he wants to belt out a jaunty tune over a pint.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Exactly that. I'm glad you are having fun with him.

@Mark-nh2hs

7 ай бұрын

Then he will sell you out to others of his kind for gold 😂

@HeroQuestFans

7 ай бұрын

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring for me he will always be a jolly pirate (who may have become a cleric in his later career!)

Thanks for doing this. If there's one thing that irks me about some KZread channels, it's when they review a game or something like this- they just kinda show the miniatures for a moment in front of the camera, and then only a few of them at best- but they'll waste 10 minutes on something like the box (that anyone can see online) or some other trivial part of the game. You take the time to show the miniatures, and even just enough time for me to pause the video and get a good look at it is fantastic for me. So consider that a sort of 'critique' of a positive nature, "Keep doing the thing where you show the miniatures up close". It's really useful for someone like me who likes to paint board game miniatures, and often I use them for other games like D&D, Frostgrave, etc.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words. I developed the way I make my videos based on what I personally look for in other videos. For example, I don't really want to see half an hour of someone's face talking about the game. I want to see elements of the game in detail while someone talks about it. As a miniatures enthusiast and painter, a good look at the miniatures is always important to me. I have to admit though, it was really difficult to get half-decent footage of the translucent minis here. Hopefully the footage was good enough for you to make a determination of their quality for your needs.

@elijahherstal776

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring they are. I can't say it has made me go "BUY THIS ASAP", but I certainly add this to the list of 'potential purchase after some time', simply because I really did want those Sword-Swinging Dread Warriors.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

It's a shame there's only one dread warrior in Spirit and one in Prophecy, because they are really good.

Great video, thanks so much! Like you, I too got my copy of HeroQuest back in December 1989 and still hold and cherish it. This last December saw some insane deals on HQ so I’ve finally picked up the new core, FH, MotM and RotDM. Certainly picking up these others too. We’ve been having a great time rediscovering HQ as a family. Thanks for your insights as always. I almost feel like I’m back in my childhood when watching 😊

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Did you shop at Zavvi in December? I posted a video about their deals because they were so good. The core set was £50 for a while, which was crazy. If I didn't already have it all I would have bought the lot.

@Starglider77

7 ай бұрын

Yes, thanks for the heads up on Zavvi. I’d completely forgotten they existed! I did get RotDM at Zavvi for £25. Got the core, MotM and FH from Amazon for £90 all in, amazing. Will get to completing the collection at some point this year when I’ve recovered😮. I think we’re all looking forward to the Ogre Horde in March. That was the one I owned back in the day but never got to playing. I’m somewhat ashamed to say I caved and sold it in recent years for a stupid amount of money, so this new re-issue will be greatly appreciated. Did you own Ogre Horde or Morcar back in the day?

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

No, I didn't own the later expansions. I always wanted Ogre Horde, but by the time Wizards came out I was deep in the hobby and had a big collection of other games, and then the 4th edition of Fantasy Battle came out in '92 and that became a big thing.

7:28 I LOVE the Orc Bard. Looking forward to SQT and finally getting this wonderful figure. Finally a sculpt that I can use for my first attempts in painting, without the risk of wasting a useful game piece 😷

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Ha. They had us in the first half, not gonna lie...

Spirit Queen: You shall kneel! **Casts Command spell on Barbarian.** Barbarian: Yes, mistress... Wizard: Barbarian, you have the Talisman of Lore, roll an extra die. Barbarian **Looking Spirit Queen up and down**: I'm good. (Edited for grammer.)

Orcs friends with elves? What's next, poetry loving dwarves that live in the trees? They seem to be forgetting that good fantasy "is" the tropes!:D

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The orcs in this expansion just don't feel like orcs at all.

@mcashed

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I hear you man. Good natured orcs just sounds unnatural.

Definitely, adding a heroic orc in Heroquest, is a complex situation, from a story standpoint; does that mean we will also see heroic goblins and heroic undead in the near future? 🤔

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I suppose with undead it's just a matter of who is controlling them, but then, as I understand it you need dread magic to raise the dead and to know dread magic you have to have given up your humanity to some extent (they say you lose "balance and empathy" in this expansion). The orc thing irks me, and they can't even claim the bard is an outlier of some kind, because this expansion is full of friendly orcs.

100% agree with the Bard. Love the Bard class, but not as an orc. I would have liked it more if it was say, a female elf. I like the warlock in PoT more. Can't wait for you to get that. The alternative gargoyle is pretty gnarly. Also love the fact they give you so much campaign content in the expansions in general. I don't think I've seen one thats less than 12 missions. One day I want to knock out a massive playthrough.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The warlock is my favourite of the three crowdfunding characters, although I'm still not overly keen. Each campaign does offer a lot of gameplay. I believe the lowest quest count is 10 (Frozen Horror and Mage of the Mirror). Ogre Horde and Wizards of Morcar were lower than that but Avalon Hill have said they are adding quests to Ogre Horde to bring it up to 10 as well.

@riot_of_flowers725

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I shouldn't be excited with more expansions from a miniatures standpoint. Haha. Hell, I haven't even got all of my Frozen Horror stuff painted. Now with PoT, and SQT, AND the Monk class releasing very soon, I havr an entire box of unpainted Heroquest stuff. A large current focus for me is a game called Rumbleslam. I'm obsesses with it. They're (TTCombat) UK based, but there a couple retailers online in the US I can get stuff from. Pretty fun game, and the characters/minis are...very interesting to say the least.

always good to hear what you have to say about these releases!

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching.

I hope the orc bard doesn't sound like that one orc bard from Skyrim

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Ha. Yes. What a way to liven up the tavern.

I agree with you on the Orc Bard. (Although, for me, I rather have Zargon's armies filled out with 1 BP human grunts.) I love your ideas about the spells and I think I'll toy around with your ideas. I think I would use the figure for an NPC Pirate Captain (with bombastic personality) and have human and elven Bard figures in male and female versions. As for all the additional Artifact cards, I never liked the idea of "consumable" Artifacts (save for the Elixir of Life), so years ago I took all the KK/RotWL spell scrolls and made them their own deck. (I kept the Treasure deck behind the screen due to the use of custom Treasure cards, including "Scroll!") Now with colour-back card sleeves available, I throw all the Treasure cards (with some equipment, artifact and home-made ones) into gold-back sleeves for the Treasure deck and all the Spells Scrolls in white-back sleeves for the Scroll deck. As for the Anti-Venom Quills and Dust of Disappearance cards, I always treated them as Treasure cards akin to common potions. (Anti-poison items are essential in my games due to how Poison damage lowers max health) (Although, I have been considering making a single treasure card for a random rare potion that would include those cards as well as some cards from FH & MotM) Great review! I cant wait for the follow-up.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

If you want to beat up a load of humans, isn't OrcQuest the solution? I haven't played it, but I know you get to beat up humans there quite a bit.

The sculpts in Spirit Queen and Prophecy are the stretch goals alt sculpts. But in different colors I'm happy, as a Mythic backer, that everyone who loves the game now has access to all except those 3 sculpts promised as exclusive during the Haslab.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

3 ай бұрын

Yes, as I said in the video they are the sculpts that were previously only available in the crowdfunding campaign, but cast in translucent plastic to make them different from what backers received. Not all backers were happy with that choice, but I think it was the best thing to do for the game and all the fans who couldn't get involved with the crowdfunding.

@jesscarver9882

3 ай бұрын

Sorry, I missed that.

Thanks you so much for this. I got SQT for xmas. Not played yet as I'm still playing Frozen Horror, but I'm loving SQT.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching. Hope you are enjoying Frozen Horror. Watch out for those yeti danger hugs!

Thanks again, great video👌🏽

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much. Glad you liked it.

Another huge advantage of that new Abomination sculpt: they don't have an overly long weapon that takes up the whole damn room and just bumps around furniture and characters, a problem I've found personally when actually using the core box set, which I just got for Christmas after much anticipation.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Its trident is quite annoying. A more upright position would have been a good move. I hope you are enjoying HeroQuest!

@Cr4z3d

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Haha, glad we both agree. I'm very much enjoying it, I actually knew about the game even before the Avalon Hill version, played the old DOS game and a (very good) recreation of it in Tabletop Simulator. I always wanted a physical copy, but it was a bit prohibitive, until the reboot, which I was very happy happened.

The problem with the female mummy and zombie, is that they look like "people in a halloween costume" rather than real monsters... And in the translucent version, they look like something we would see in scooby do....

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The pose of the mummy looks very Scooby-Doo. Like it's just jumped up to shout "Boo!"

you brought up a lot of good points. I got the Mythic Tier when I supported the Haslab project so I already have this but I may buy another to get all the perks like the translucent minis and dice. Also, this adventure was written by Teos Abadia, a D&D enthusiast and youtuber called alphastream. Maybe you could reach out to him and do an interview. Some of the answers you want about this quest pack could be answered.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I see they but Abadia's name on the front of the quest book so they were obviously very proud to get them on board.

@Spardin

7 ай бұрын

Makes sense it was wrote by someone into D&D, friendly orcs don't really make sense in hero quest I do think they should of limited what they are allowed to add so it fits the setting

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I think with Hasbro owning D&D we were always going to see a certain amount of bleed into HeroQuest, not least because they were going to leverage connections in the D&D crowd for guest contributors. This expansion is the most overt, I would say.

I have the Mythic Tier and I'm buying this expansion for fear of missing out. Well played Hasbro, you win this round!

@SlocumJoe7740

7 ай бұрын

Same I might take the Dice and Enemys and sell the rest of the contents on Ebay

I always think of the. As half-orcs. Human/orc spawn. Personal errata. In fact all “good guy” orcs in the art - I consider half-orcs. Makes sense to me. The offspring of surviving humans who were attacked and….you know….”pillaged” by orc war parties. It’s not really nice to think about, but it’s fantasy. These offspring are motivated to seek revenge against their more brutish ancestors. To me. That makes these versions of “orcs” (half-orcs), more palatable.

@Mark-nh2hs

7 ай бұрын

I was about to say something similar but couldn't find the words but you have done it spot on.

Oh man I've been excited to see this review! Honestly, I'm just surprised they haven't given us any NEW minis (like for quest bosses, etc) and new overlays for the board :(

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

New overlays would have been nice. They really do help to make dungeons feel different, but so far Frozen Horror is the only expansion that has really leaned into it and made the most of the idea.

@KentKaliber

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Considering it's just cardboard, it would be really easy for them to make us more overlays :(

I haven't seen anyone else note it, but yes, some of these are indeed female sculpts. The Mummies, Zombies, Dread Warriors, and Goblins all have traditional female aspects to them. Some people also assume the Gargoyle (in the PoT expansion), Skeletons, and Abominations are female as well, but there is no apparent indicators on any of them that make that point. To me, the only notable thing about these Abominations is that they apparently have been taken over by the barnacles/anemone on their backs. Like Ants zombified by cordyceps.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I didn't really notice the dread warrior being particularly feminine. It's hard with the translucent plastic sometimes to pick up smaller details. Interesting take on the abominations. I thought that was just a tentacle cluster as they also have them coming off the head and from the front below the mouth. Maybe it is female as with most fish the females are bigger than the males, and this could explain the size difference.

@Deadduck2pt0

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring If you go and paint those alt sculpts you'll see they have breast armor. I bought the mythic tier and have painted them all now, and can confirm those are lady warriors. And the lining/design on the armor is a little hornet/insect like, whereas on the base game, they're wearing a skull for the top armor. And yes, other than size, it's hard to tell the gender of fish or skeletons. So it really comes down to what the player/Zargon want it to be.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I wasn't disputing the fact it's a female dread warrior. I was saying that sometimes it's hard to get a proper read on the miniatures with the translucent plastic because some details naturally get lost so from my initial look it hadn't leapt out as being an obviously feminine piece.

@Deadduck2pt0

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I apologize. I didn't think it was being so aggressive. But I can see how it could be seen as me pushing that fact. (And to be honest, aggressive is too strong a word as well.) I was only trying to describe the sculpt. As you said, that translucent plastic really makes it hard to see. And knowing you love to paint I assumed you might make an effort on these minis. All I have seen is people fully painting them and not preserving the translucency. If I paint these sets, I'm going to attempt that. But I hope to find some good examples before then. Perhaps find a way to illuminate them as well. But that may be out of my meager abilities. Really love your content, and your perspective on games. And I look forward to the next one!

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

No need to apologise. I didn't think you were being combative. I was just clarifying that I wasn't disagreeing with you, as when I read back my previous comment I thought my comment of "I didn't notice the dread warrior being particularly feminine" could have been read as arguing against you when in fact I was simply saying that on my initial examination it wasn't clear to me. To be honest, I am probably going to paint these normally as well, simply because I want to be able to use the alternative sculpts all the time. If I had the Mythic pledge and already had some of these, then I would paint them as ghosts instead. I do have a few videos on my channel painting translucent plastic. If you haven't seen them, they may be a bit helpful: kzread.info/dash/bejne/kXiC0LGzoZedn6Q.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/aKKG2sqpaNSwnZM.html

I love the orc bard. The dorkier the better.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I’m glad to hear you are having fun with him.

I think its cool that they are doing new things with the Orcs now that they are generic fantasy Orcs and not the Orcs from warhammer. But the Bard has not been used by any of my groups yet.

Love the review I’m the same don’t like the orc bard but the baddies are ace but I don’t like the transparency figs. I’m waiting for the Ogre hoard. 👍👍

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Ogre Horde should be great. That's a really exciting release.

Hi I got my copy of spirit queen's torment last week from Amazon to add to my stack of hero quest quest packs

The really nice thing about this expansion is it’s a new campaign that you can replace the base game campaign with for a new group of heroes.

I agree with the Orc they should have maybe made him a Halfling Bard

I can’t play it until they add it to the app. Hopefully that’s soon.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The fact they added Prophecy of Telor recently suggests Spirit Queen's Torment shouldn't be far behind.

@superzook5375

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring True. I’m playing Telor right now (quest #9). I was going to play Queens Torment next if it’s ready. If not, I’ll skip ahead to Return of the Witch Lord.

I won't lie: the Orc Bard came as a surprise to me. And that surely wouldn't be a race that I would choose for the Bard (maybe I would pick a Halfling). That said, it's not something that bothers me. And I certainly have no problem with the idea of an Orc hero as some people do. Some people think HeroQuest is Lord of the Rings-like product; it's not. Heroquest was always a sort of D&D lite for kids, a dungeon crawl game where you beat monsters for treasure while completing a quest. It borrowed heavily from old D&D (the vancian magic style and the races-as-classes concept, for example). So when D&D changed, it's no surprise that HeroQuest will follow the tendencies of it's main inspiration.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

It's not surprising that under Hasbro, HeroQuest would start to lean more towards D&D. Having already said my piece on it I'm not going to rehash my thoughts, which had nothing to do with Lord of the Rings, but I will share the original description of orcs from the HeroQuest rules. I, of course, know a lot has changed since the old days of GW's involvement, but this will always be the orcs to me: "Orcs... form the rank and file of Morcar's armies and delight in cruelty and slaughter. Savage and vicious warriors, orcs should never be underestimated."

The only depth the orcs need is the depth my blade reaches in their torso!

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

2 ай бұрын

Hear hear!

Funny, in Canada, I received POT and I’m still waiting for SQT.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Amazon have pushed my delivery of Prophecy of Telor to the end of the month now.

have been looking at this, though still only part way through the main core box, I think some of the bits in the expansions are worth bringing in earlier, just to change it up a bit since one of the players _has the core game themselves_ and won't you just know it has an irritating habit of knowing whats coming.. a few curveballs could help here well that or throw more goblins in

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

All my expansions tend to get smooshed together. For example, I started using elf spells as soon as I purchased Mage of the Mirror. And I don't see anything wrong with Zargon drawing on additional resources to add a little excitement or challenge to an existing mission.

I love the bard rant xD

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Sometimes I almost feel bad for disliking him so much... then I get over it and go back to disliking him without remorse.

As far as I know, none of the quests in the stretch goal box were ever going to be exclusive, the two miniatures one of Sir Ragnar and Mentor, which as far as I know will be exclusive forever, to be honest, I was quite happy to see the quests go to retail, but I do hope they keep Ragner and mentor exclusive as promised. I'm not that happy that they made the mini's different in the expansion though, almost feels like Hasbro are trying to get backers to buy twice.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes, the quests were never labeled as exclusive. Until now they were exclusive to the Mythic pledge because you couldn't get them anywhere else but it was never stated that would never change (only a few things were listed as being timed exclusives that should never make it to retail). It's similar to the green dice - they are currently exclusive to the retail release of Spirit Queen's Torment but that doesn't mean Avalon Hill will never include those dice somewhere else.

How easy is it to paint the transparent plastic. Would it take speed paint like a normal plastic mini once it has been primed?

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Once they are spray primed you should be able to paint them as normal. I’ve painted other translucent miniatures normally in the past.

@Magmaxyz

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringthanks! Want some alt pose monsters to paint up the same as the base game

I agree. The "dorky Orcs" and "not all the evil creatures are evil" thing doesn't work in Heroquest. To me this just diluted Heroquest instead of enhancing it. Nice dice set though! 😊

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yeah. I really hope it isn't something they continue leaning into, as I would like to just ignore it.

@CinKaiDRocks

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Agreed.

13:49 aren't they the same dice as those that came with The Frozen Horror? edit: they are probably more greenish than blue.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

No. They are very different. I will post a photo comparing them on my Instagram shortly.

Not sure if this was mentioned in the comments below. But In the core game, if a hero's mind points hit 0, they die. Later they changed the rule to heros go into shock when their mind points go to 0. I would assume that this expansion plays on the older shock rule.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

There are no rules in the core game for dying if you hit zero mind points.

@dennysain9472

7 ай бұрын

My bad.. it's been a min since I played the core or first 2 expansions. In ROTWL quest 5 Bellthor has the ability to attack the mind points. Which if a hero is reduced to 0 mind points they are knocked unconscious and removed from game board to end the quest.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes. That’s a special rule for that quest to set up the next scenario. There is also one special chance heroes can die from mind point loss in Kellar's Keep, but again, that is a special note in the rules for that quest. Proper rules for what should happen at zero mind points were first introduced in Frozen Horror. I talk about this more in todays video, which will go up on the channel later.

I’m not a fan of the Orc Bard either… BUT there is an STL version of the Orc Bard on Thingiverse that emulates the style of the original Heroquest miniatures. I still wouldn’t want to choose an Orc Bard but I appreciate the effort someone put into recreating it old-school style (link below.) I didn’t realize there were alternate sculpts in this box and 14 scenarios. Tempting. Question: when you play do you use that mouse-mat in the background of this video? I backed that Kickstarter but haven’t gotten around to printing any of them yet. Do the overlays from the other expansions fit correctly on these alternative maps?

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The map in the background isn't an official HeroQuest layout. It has corridors with different shapes, the central chamber is larger, and there are extra rooms, so you either have to modify quests or play custom quests on it. I did a preview video using this map during the Beautiful Dungeon Mats Kickstarter campaign and showed how it interacts with miniatures and overlays. Everything fits, and doors sit on the wide walls so they don't get in the way of the action, but the oversized central room is a problem with some overlays.

@danroberts007

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Yes, I did back the Kickstarter campaign for the Dungeon Mats after watching your video when it was new... I guess I should have just gone back and re-watched it to get the answer. Apologies for making you explain that all over again but thank you for typing it out for me! 🙂

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

No worries. During the campaign there was a late addition of a mat that was the same as the HeroQuest board. I think on that one the central chamber is the right size and if it was part of your backer's package then that would probably be the best one to print if you want to play official missions on it.

I actually like the old sculpt as they look like sahuagin in dnd (at least i use them for them), the newer ones look a lot more fish-like

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

You mean the abominations from the core set? Yes, I see what you mean. It's just a personal thing, but I prefer these alternative ones. They feel a bit more menacing and imposing. I still often feel they don't fit quite right in the HeroQuest dungeons though.

@WarpaintStudios

6 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yes, definitley a personal thing 😅 Also, having a look on the hasbro site, i spotted a new dice set (and remembering you mentioning needing a new set for your wizard?), might be something you're interested in, but are a bit on the pricey side at $35.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

Are you referring to the Dread Veil set with the mat? If so, they are the ones that I talked about on the channel previously. I decided not to pay to import a set of those.

@WarpaintStudios

6 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring ah ok, yes, those are the ones haha and yes, import charges make it difficult to warrant buying things sometimes.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

Nice looking dice, but I couldn't justify it. I expect to see more dice in future expansions anyway.

I think the Bard looks like Jack Black I call him Tenacious D.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

3 ай бұрын

Of course, he's not Jack Black. He's just a tribute.

"..is yet to give us a truly fantastic mommy sculpt." "Sir, give the wrapped lady a break. She is sculpted fine... for an undead". Alternative sculpts for enemies are always good, and some of these look better than those from the base box. I personally dig the orc bard, but I admit: he clearly came from lighter, softer and goofier world compared to the original game. Then again, you can say the same about the Elf (female one).

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

There are some really good ones here.

Yea.. only good Greenskin is a dead Greenskin. Got both quest packs weeks ago but i didn't bother to read em. I'm guessing the orange minions in Prophecy of Telor are made from this same Dread fire?

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I think the enemies in that expansion are imbued with elemental fire. I don't think it's related to what is happening with this expansion. I still don't have Prophecy of Telor in hand though to be able to check the details more closely.

Beautiful Dungeon Mat.. what company did you use to print them off & deliver after purchasing the PDF??

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The one in the video was sent to me by the creator of the art assets. He got it printed at Patriot Games in the UK.

@stevea3493

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thanks they look amazing

I'm mixed in terms of orc morality. On one hand, the goblin king Twigrot and his orc brother Lortar Cragmaw being the victims of a bugbear coup set by the Black Spider in my run of Lost Mines of Phandelver resulted in some great laughs for all, but they're not exactly the dynamic duo you'd want save the day, and if they were, it's probably for a more selfish reason like "Dey started it, and we'z get krumpin' to finish it". HeroQuest doesn't really lend itself to that though. Along with the reasons you gave, its also not a game where role-playing through a narrative is the focus. I'm sure you could add it, but its a straight dungeon crawl with a story in the background. Stopping to spare a cowardly goblin in HeroQuest leaves you just as likely to get backstabbed more than gaining a sidekick akin to Wheelie in the 86 Transformers movie.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, I just don't think HeroQuest is the place to deal with that sort of thing. It didn't sit well with me.

I'm desperate to get a board like yours, where did you manage to find it? I just want one that has enough space for the doors!

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

27 күн бұрын

It’s the Beautiful Dungeon Mat that I reviewed on the channel. This one is custom and doesn’t match the HeroQuest board layout, but accurate designs are also available.

@fishy7901

27 күн бұрын

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I did search for a video on it but must have missed it! My search for the perfect board continues 🤣 thank you for the reply, love your HQ videos, me and my wife are currently playing through for the first time and we're up to Telor, absolutely loving it.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

27 күн бұрын

To be clear, this same board is available but with the accurate HeroQuest layout. You buy the design and get the company of your choice to print it.

@fishy7901

27 күн бұрын

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring ah I see! I definitely need to investigate, thanks for this :)

ABNB what is the miniature with the sword and shield you compared to the zombie? I thought the original zombie was the cute pathetic looking thing with the meat clever🧟?

@zombiedad

7 ай бұрын

Oh. Is that the core box zombie. 🥺 great video as always.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The one with the meat cleaver is from the 1989 edition. Probably my favourite zombie sculpt ever. And yes, in this video I'm comparing the new sculpts to the ones from the core box of Avalon Hill's edition.

Yeah... between this one and the Prophecy of Telor, I feel like SQT (hmm odd looking abbreviation) is the lesser of the two. How is Chaos(Dread) using Fire Magic a surprise? Didn't we have a whole quest called "Balur the Fire Mage"??

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Exactly. I was trying to balance it in my brain - maybe dread fire is different to elemental fire? But... that seems like a weak explanation. It all feels a bit hand-wavey and made up. Maybe I'm missing something, but it seemed like a very odd premise. There are some good ideas in there though, and I do like a lot of the alternative sculpts so there are positives. Hmmm... SQT.

Orc Bard → Orc Pirate. Make cards with alternate text and the same effects. Kurgan made a set of these and I have some of them. I'm totally willing to accept AH's world in which there are pockets of orcs who do not worship the dread gods… But I cannot take THAT orc seriously as a bard. If you were going to make an orc bard, have him be something like a Klingon warrior poet or something. Not some doofus trying to sing an opera in the middle of a dungeon. Generally though in my world, orcs are the baddies, yes. Fungus monsters created by alien gods to follow orders and not really think … about much of anything, honestly. I know oldhammer usually portrays them as cruel and vicious and clever … but my exposure to oldhammer era orcs was basically the HQ 1989 sculpts, and … look at those faces. They're not evil, because evil would require the ability to think enough to decide right from wrong, and they've never had half a thought so complex as to make that possible. Gotta kill 'em if they get in the way because they'll follow their orders to the last BP, and you take what you can use because you aren't going to leave it for the next group of baddies. I'll always have a soft spot for the 1989 HQ orc. Lovable little brute.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Even if I liked the concept, I'm just not that impressed with the orc. I'm very happy to see him get a retail release, but he's going to get very comfortable sitting in my game box.

Have to say, as an OG Heroquest player that boxed art got me curious. I don't know any of the new lore these days, nice models though.

@walt_man

6 ай бұрын

Hey! You don't get the Spirit Queen in the box? >.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

You get a female dread sorcerer. You are supposed to use that. They didn’t make any new models specifically for these expacs.

I'm not a fan of that Orc Bard miniature. The pose is a bit silly, but my real issue is that the sculpt looks boring, and the details and edges look 'soft' compared to the rest of the figures in the set.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

It's definitely not to the same standard as some other miniatures in the game. He does look more like a "toy". The rapier position is odd too.

While for the people who didnt get the mythic tier this & the other translucent set are great maybe the should have given both Wizard & Dwarf solo campaigns like the Elf & Barbarian get first or at least put the Dwarf & Wizard together in one before worrying about character campaigns for the crowd funded heroes

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

These expansions were pretty much ready to go. They already had the sculpts, quest, rules, and art done. They just needed to tidy it up, reprint it all and box it. So I guess it was (relatively) easy money for them. We know there are more expansions on the way, including Against the Ogre Horde, so I am sure the dwarf and wizard will get their chance to shine eventually.

the female Abominations fit a lot better on the board than the original remake versions (too dynamic with their arm outstretched one direction and their spear going the other). a lot less crowding

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes. I think the alternative abomination is an all-round better design.

The Dread Warrior is a female too

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

And the abomination and goblin, apparently. Some of the detailing is a little hard to read on the translucent plastic.

Does the dread warrior's sword looks like he-man's sword

@Rocket1377

7 ай бұрын

No. I can see why you would think that though, since it is similar to how Alfredo Alcala drew He-Man's Power Sword. However, in most depictions of He-Man, including the original toy and the Filmation cartoon, his sword hilt looked quite different.

I think the worst part about the bard is that it's just... not good. It's not worse than the druid, but it's abilities are very limited and just not that interesting. I would have liked to see the "half casters" (druid, warlock, bard) come with the mage of the mirror Elf treatment, where they each get 8 to choose from but can still only bring 3. I understand that the orc here is a direct reprint of the mythic version, but it and the warlock (and the druid when/if it's released) needed something that makes them feel interesting compared to the Elf and Wizard.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes, the bard really doesn't feel much like a bard. I think they could easily have done something to make his spells/songs feel a bit more special. A choice of spells would be neat, but I was also thinking some kind of songwriting theme would have been good, where you shuffle a deck of buffs and effects and deal three to make a unique spell song.

It's probably worth buying another set to paint the miniatures normally.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I expect I will just paint them normally anyway. You also get most of them again in Prophecy of Telor but in translucent orange instead.

@SiestaOdyssey

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring In that case I might do the same.

Dat's uh noice Loot! 'Ow meny teen 'ja poi ferit? ... Oi, mate? Yore Bod could use a bitta dakka! Why doncha point 'is Loot red - moibe den 'ee cuh ploi fasta!!! [orc laughter]

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Orc bard only knows one song - "Ere we go, ere we go, ere we go!"

Orc racism 😂

orc bard? hilarious.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I imagine they thought it was pretty amusing when they came up with it.

A dorky, pirate looking orc singing an enemy to sleep, who is supposed to be an evil, savage murdering beast. It just doesn’t feel right.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

It just doesn't sit well with me at all.

Well,if you don't like the orc bard,you can always just use something else. I'd probably make an Eddie Riggs style bardbarian type character. 3D printing is fun. The rest of the minis are nice. Spooky ghosties with new styles. As for bard gameplay,I have to agree. Area effect buffs,debuffs,and low end spells seem in line with the bard's profession. But I wouldn't say no to a guitar that shoots lightning. More advanced effects would require the bard to "lead into" a song which means he has to spend one round preparing and then the spell takes effect the next round. I could got into bard game mechanics in an action video game setting but only if you want to hear it.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I definitely think they could have done more to make the bard feel more like he is singing or playing. The whole character feels a little under-developed for my tastes.

I agree about the Bard. Especially since one of the bards you meet in this quest pack is supposed to be female. Orcs should always be irredeemably evil, there is absolutely no need to subvert these monsters, or try to make them in any way sympathetic.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Yes, it's very odd. I talk about the weird allies and how they can sometimes join the party in my next video, where I go into the mission in detail. Should be up on Monday.

I'm with you entirely on HeroQuest orcs being evil. Not least for that reason, I'm very much on the fence about getting this expansion. I'll hold off on that decision for now, at least until I see your Morcar video on it. Prophecy of Telor seems a better investment and wait right now.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

The Morcar / Zargon video should be up on Monday. I don't want to say too much, but if you are really against the idea of good orcs, you might struggle quite a bit with this quest line! I liked the look of Prophecy of Telor more, and I would say that the Warlock character was my favourite of the three crowdfunding heroes (although I didn't really like any of them all that much).

@martinfiedler4317

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Don't think that orcs necessarily need to be the Tolkienesque "evil creations of the dark lord". But they should also not be simple "savage people with green skin and tusks". Orcs need to be brutal, aggressive ... different. Similar goes for elfs and dwarfs. Generally, demihumans and humanoids should be more than just fancy people. They should be thoroughly alien beings. But maybe that view is "racist" today 🙄

Poor Orc Bard. He's my favourite hero. Although I do have an issue with the fact that he doesn't have 3 defence on his character card. Since he doesn't start equipped with metal armour he clearly should.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

He has to be wearing non-metal armour to get the bonus.

I dont like the orc bard. Ill get a 3d printed human or elf bard and go with the stats.

Soooo new buyers get improved components and initial backers have to buy the expansion again if we want the translucent minis and dice?! That doesn't seem fair at all...

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I talked about this when the expansions were announced, but I will briefly reiterate my stance here: Firstly, I do appreciate that some early adopters will feel this isn't exactly fair, and I think Hasbro put themselves in a bad situation by choosing to crowdfund in the first place when it was obvious the game was going to be huge, but I think it was an essential move. 1. Backers got early access to everything - they have been using these quests and heroes for two years already. 2. Backers got exclusive content - mentor and Sir Ragnar. 3. Backers got an amazing deal at the time. It cost me £150 at retail to get the core set and the first two expansions without any extras and had to wait longer to get it. 4. Backers got the miniatures in regular colours, which I would have much preferred to the translucent ones. 5. Very few things were ever listed as exclusive, and the quests and alternative enemies weren't. 6. Gameplay content should never be exclusive. It creates a division in the fanbase between the haves and have-nots. 7. New content for all keeps interest and sales for the game high. The more product people buy, the longer our game will thrive. 8. Adding the dice and coloured miniatures gives early backers a reason to still be interested in this release. If they wait for a sale (in the UK recently you could get expansions like Return of the Witch Lord for about £15) they can get the extra dice set and even more miniatures without a lot of expense. So, yes. While I am sympathetic to anybody who feels this is unfair, I don't like exclusives, and I think this is the best outcome for a bad situation.

The main issue with the Orc Bard is this game decends from Warhammer which has orcs as angry fungus barbarians. Once you step outside of the Warhammer Lore nostalgia there is no real issue with him. He is not for me but I can see the appeal to others.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

2 ай бұрын

Personally, I don't think that's the only issue with "good" orcs, and the original HeroQuest was housed so very loosely within Warhammer lore I don't think that lore really factors into it too much. Not for me at least. I have a lot of reasons I don't appreciate the idea, but I've already covered them in this video and the accompanying video about the quest line. Some people seem to like the bard, and the other related ideas from this expansion, so that's okay. I don't have to like every idea Avalon Hill attach to new HeroQuest.

Complaining about the bard being a orc is kind of funny cause it’s like dnd build, dnd master complaining about the player choosing to play as that class with the race (cause everyone just goes with generic races for bards I been seeing) . I love him cause he kind of give us a unique race to play as

The orc is ridiculous. I think the designers forgot that heroes should look heroic. They also forgot that classic fantasy is based on medieval Europe not the 17th century.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

It's a shame because they could have done a bard character I was much more interested in - a few tweaks to the spells and moving away from the orc idea would have made a huge difference for me personally.

Well, in my opinion it´s not a very godd value for the money. Different sculpts for minis that we already have is very underwhelming. I rather buy minis I want from Etsy and make my own cards.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

It's definitely a weaker value proposition than other expansions, and I think that value can be easily undermined - if you aren't interested in alt sculpts, ghost sculpts, the bard character, and so on. For me, I really wanted the alt sculpts that I didn't already have, and another set of combat dice. And while I dislike the bard, I am still glad to own it in case anyone wants to give it a try.

@wagner594

6 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That's fair. There is ofcourse some value there. I just wished it was some more. The best thing about HQ is that you easily can customize it to your own likings and inspiration! 😊

I hate the orc bard. It's a mixture of woke/non-cannon/zero-context messiness.

@jeanfoutre3620

7 ай бұрын

after watching your video, i must say, you put it way better: orc bard is (1) ORC (that's a problem in my eyes too), and (2): dorky. No story attached. blah.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

Even if I liked the concept, to me, the bard just doesn't feel like an orc at all - he's singing and dancing around in a pirate costume with a rapier. Some people seem to like him, though.

@carlosbarreto4695

7 ай бұрын

Woke 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 What a bunch of nonsense.

God I hate the orc bard, the extra heros from the campaign completely put me off backing it, the guest designers of them had obviously never played a game of hero quest ever, and got chosen for just fame and clout.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

7 ай бұрын

I thought Avalon Hill did a great job with the guardian knight and the rogue heir, but I didn't think much to any of the heroes from the crowdfunding campaign. The orc is definitely my least favourite though. Still, I am sure some people will have a lot of fun with him, so ultimately I am pleased to see him get a retail release.

@Spardin

7 ай бұрын

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring they feel so out of place they look feel like something that should be in D&D not hero quest which has always seemed to be on the darker side

@VaultBoy13

7 ай бұрын

Yeah, the orc bard design is overall lazy. Although, the entire reprint, to be honest, was overall lazy. It's cool that they're making new content for the game though.

@elijahherstal776

7 ай бұрын

If I'm gonna be honest, I've never liked Bards regardless of whatever species they are. I give people fair warning in my D&D groups that if they play a bard- the more 'quirky and silly' he is, the more likely they are to befall a 'tragic, unforseen accident'.

@EliWintercross

7 ай бұрын

The Rogue Heir is fantastic imo, but the Bard just seems.... pretty flat

I'd like to see them do a BOARD variations expansion release (Of course these would not be compatible with current quest) I would always switch between HeroQuest, (D&D) DragonQuest and (D&D) DragonStrike. Especially Dragon Quest as that one used the "random room" system like Heroquest. We all know why the added the Orc as a Bard if you've been following the _Wizards of the Coast_ drama, out on completely destroying it. Can't have enemy races because that's racist. Can't have racial abilities because, blabla. Can't use certain terms because, pfffff. And they wonder why more and more people are walking away WHILE also dividing the players from each other.

@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

6 ай бұрын

I wonder if they would ever consider a new core set with a new board, new heroes, and entirely new enemies. Like how games like Shadows of Brimstone create new entry points that also serve as expansions.